Sesame Seed Allergies

Is your hamburger be making you sneeze? It could be the bun.

According to new research from Duke University, that suggests a growing number of people are developing allergies to sesame seeds...not just in hamburger buns, but in everything from soap to salad dressing. Researchers have found in reviewing a lot of different allergy studies that in some cases, the seeds rank right under the most common allergens like eggs and peanuts. The problem is, public awareness is not so great.

"You really wouldn't test for it unless you found the history in talking to a patient that they suspected that. It's pretty identifiable in the sense that most people know the food they have will have sesame in that," says Wesley Burks M.D., an allergist at Duke University.

Food allergy symptoms include everything from a rash, to stomach troubles and breathing problems. Sesame has been added to the list of major food allergens for use in food labeling in Europe and Canada, but it has not been included yet in the list provided by the FDA here in the United States.

The study was conducted at the University of Michigan and is published in the Journal of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.